"You really are too busy to spare a moment, Brother." Jiang Yiner lowered her head and opened the booklet. "Let me explain the rules of the Feather-Scale Trial to you."
Pei Ye smiled and made a show of washing his ears to listen. "That's why I came straight to the ever-reliable Yin'er."
Jiang Yiner smiled. When she grew serious, she really did resemble a prim, proper teacher. "First, you must understand that the rankings Cultivators receive after the Feather-Scale Trial aren't determined directly by their records. They're still assessed by the Immortal Platform. There are simply too many participants, and the relationships between wins and losses can easily become tangled. So after the Feather-Scale Trial, the Immortal Platform considers every match and issues a new list, which becomes this year's Xia List."
Pei Ye nodded.
"There are two hundred and thirty-three participants in this year's Feather Trial: one hundred and sixty-three ranked, and seventy unranked. The bottom seventy ranked participants are matched against the seventy unranked participants. First, they're paired by 'folding down the middle and matching head to tail.' Once the results are in, their rankings are reassigned accordingly. After three rounds like this, the seventy who retain places on the list are decided anew.
"Then comes the second stage. These new seventy are mixed with the remaining ninety-three and assigned opponents. That establishes the Crane List rankings anew," Jiang Yiner said. "There are also some finer rules. For example, if the person who defeats you ultimately places twenty or more ranks above you, you can choose someone within that gap for another match."
"Exactly. If Brother Zhu ran into Miss Ming in the first round, that would be rotten luck-wait, we don't even know whether Brother Zhu can make it into that new seventy."
Jiang Yiner looked curious.